Written Answers

Thursday 21 September 2000

Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8302 by Sarah Boyack on 22 August 2000, what the criteria are for considering applications for Regional Selective Assistance towards start-up international air service projects.

Henry McLeish: All applications for Regional Selective Assistance, including those which relate to start-up international air services projects, must meet in full the criteria of the scheme, which are as follows:

  (i) projects must be undertaken in the Assisted Areas;

  (ii) projects must create or safeguard jobs;

  (iii) projects must be viable;

  (iv) applicants must demonstrate a need for assistance, and

  (v) the greater part of the funding for projects should be provided by the private sector.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8302 by Sarah Boyack on 22 August 2000, what Regional Selective Assistance has been or is being sought towards start-up international air service projects.

Henry McLeish: The Executive does not at present have any applications or enquiries for Regional Selective Assistance towards start-up international air services projects.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8302 by Sarah Boyack on 22 August 2000, to what conditions awards of Regional Selective Assistance towards start-up international air service projects are subject, and what timescales apply to any such conditions and any Regional Selective Assistance awarded.

Henry McLeish: Offers of assistance to start-up international air service projects would be subject to standard conditions attached to all Regional Selective Assistance offers and specific conditions tailored to the grant-assisted project. All conditions would be set out in full in any formal offer of assistance made towards such a project. In order to comply with current European Guidelines on National Regional Aid, grant offers would remain subject to those conditions for a minimum period of five years from the date of first payment of grant.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to aid the ambulance service in Glasgow in terms of extra staffing and equipment in view of reported staff concerns about response times in Glasgow.

Susan Deacon: The revenue allocation for the Scottish Ambulance Service for 2000-01 included an additional £500,000 to enable it to put an extra 20 emergency ambulance staff into Glasgow. On 2 August, I was pleased to open a new £1.2 million ambulance station at Shieldhall. This station is better positioned for the highest patient demand areas in the west of Glasgow, and should help to provide a more responsive and efficient service to the public.

  The Executive will continue to bear in mind the need to improve response times in Glasgow further in considering its investment decisions.

Ambulance Service

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to increase numbers of paramedics being trained for ambulance services.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many trained paramedics are currently working on ambulances and where any geographical areas of shortage are.

Susan Deacon: There are 605 paramedics in Scotland. There are vacancies in some parts of Scotland, but local managers ensure that paramedics are available on every shift. Earlier this year, the Executive demonstrated its commitment to paramedic training by providing additional funding of £485,000 to train an additional 75 paramedics this year. The Executive will continue to bear in mind the need to continue increasing the service’s paramedic complement in considering its investment decisions.

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

Mr John Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the EU to speed up the consideration of a two-stage testing regime for algal toxins in scallops.

Susan Deacon: Responsibility for this issue rests with the Food Standards Agency, with the Scottish arm taking the lead on European negotiations. The conclusions of the meeting of the EU Marine Biotoxins Reference Laboratories, including the possibility of a tiered testing system, were circulated to member states for comments in May. The UK has written to the Commission and will be requesting an update at the next Standing Veterinary Committee meeting later this month.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to use human papilloma virus testing as part of the cervical cancer screening process.

Susan Deacon: The Department of Health propose to pilot the use of HPV testing for women with borderline or mildly abnormal smears as part of the Cervical Screening Programme at three sites in England. The pilot is due to start in late spring 2001. The UK National Screening Committee will review the evidence from the pilot in due course and will make recommendations on its effectiveness which I will consider.

  The Scottish Executive will be monitoring progress with the pilot and the findings to see what lessons can be learned for the Cervical Screening Programme in Scotland.

  Research is currently underway, based at Dundee and Aberdeen University Hospitals, which is looking at the management of women with borderline or mildly abnormal smears and HPV testing is an integral part of the study. The study is due to report in 2005.

Child Protection

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Child Protection Statistics for the Years Ended 31 March 1997 and 1998, what the reasons are for the wide variation in the proportion of children placed on child protection registers from one local authority area to another.

Peter Peacock: There may be a number of reasons for the variation in registration rates from one local authority area to another, for example, variation in recording practices or different registration and deregistration criteria.

  We are working with others to develop a revised system for the collection of child protection information. The new system will require agreed definitions and other data standards. Among other things it will allow more meaningful and reliable comparisons to be made between local authority areas.

Culture

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of visits by socially excluded people to museums and galleries.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive encourages the National Museums and Galleries to ensure increased public access by including the provision of additional grants specific for that purpose. The National Cultural Strategy shows a key aim to increase public access and states no intention to change statutory free admission to local authority museums and galleries. In addition, the National Cultural Strategy confirmed the Executive’s intention to provide the sum of £2 million a year to enable the National Museum of Scotland to abolish charges at the Royal Museum and the Museum of Scotland from 1 April 2001. In relation to the non-national museums and galleries, the Scottish Museums Council, funded by the Scottish Executive, is developing a social inclusion strategy which will assist museums to consider ways to increase visits by socially excluded people.

Customs and Excise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from the Public and Commercial Services Union regarding the implications which the closure of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Collection and Co-ordination Unit in Paisley would have for devolved matters, in particular the tackling of the drugs problem, and whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty’s Government regarding any such implications.

Mr Jim Wallace: No representations have been received. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of subjects. HM Customs and Excise have sought to give assurances that a reduction in the number of Collection and Co-ordination Units would have no affect on the ability of HM Customs and Excise to mount anti-drugs operations in Scotland.

Customs and Excise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty’s Government regarding any economic impact which the closure of Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Collection and Co-ordination Unit in Paisley would have.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom government on a wide range of issues including the Customs and Excise network.

Dental Care

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any shortage of rural dental provision in the North East of Scotland and, if there is, what measures it has taken or plans to take to address this situation.

Iain Gray: The provision of dental services across their areas is kept under review by health boards, Acute Trusts and Primary Care NHS Trusts which work in co-operation to ensure availability of and improvements in services. In circumstances where Primary Care NHS Trusts and island health boards consider there is a lack of NHS dental provision, they may apply for approval to Scottish Ministers to employ salaried dentists where in their view this would be the most appropriate way forward to tackle problems with access to such services in their area.

Dental Care

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any shortage of emergency NHS dental provision in the cities of Aberdeen or Dundee.

Iain Gray: It is for Grampian and Tayside Primary Care NHS Trusts to make arrangements for emergency provision in their respective areas. Dentists in the Grampian and Tayside areas who have patients registered with them under NHS capitation or continuing care arrangements are required to provide emergency cover to those patients under their NHS terms of service. Grampian Primary Care Trust is currently discussing with the Scottish Executive the development of a more comprehensive emergency dental service for Grampian.

Dental Care

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists were there in the North East of Scotland parliamentary region in each of the last five years and whether it will conduct a study into the provision of NHS dental services in this region.

Iain Gray: Information by parliamentary region is not collected centrally. The table below shows the number of NHS Dentists in Grampian and Tayside Health Board areas over the past five years.

  NHS Dentists in Grampian and Tayside Health Board as at 31 March

  





1996


1997


1998


1999


2000




Grampian


152


156


159


160


164




Tayside


156


152


152


152


157




  (Includes principal and salaried dentists.)

  As part of the action plan for Dental Services in Scotland, Primary Care Trusts/health boards will be asked to review their local services to determine how well the needs of specific groups are being met.

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in respect of which Advanced Higher courses materials were not supplied to schools in time for the start of term and, in each case, what the date is by which all relevant materials will have been provided.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I refer Fergus Ewing to the answer I gave to question S1W-9243 on 7 September. Further to that reply, I can advise that the Higher Still Development Unit wrote to centres on 31 August.

Employment

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is making any representations to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the loss of VAT jobs in the north east of Scotland.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom government on a wide range of issues including the administration of VAT.

Enterprise

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1297 by Henry McLeish on 15 September 1999, whether it will list the name and objective of each regulation introduced in Scotland since 1 May 1997 and provide details of the Compliance Cost Assessment and/or Regulatory Impact Assessment prepared in each case.

Henry McLeish: The details requested on the 15 regulations referred to in the reply to question S1W-1297 are set out in the table below. Copies of the Compliance Cost Assessment (CCA) or Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) prepared in each case were placed in the House Libraries. In future copies of RIAs relating to Scottish Statutory Instruments will be sent to: the Subordinate Legislation Committee (SLC); the lead committee within whose remit the subject matter of the instrument falls; the Parliament’s Legal Advisers, and to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

  


Date made


SI number


Title of Statutory 
Instrument


Purpose of SI




July 1997


1997 No. 1870 (S.136)


The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) 
Amendment Regulations 1997


These Regulations are concerned with 
the further implementation in Scotland of Council Directive 85/337/EEC 
(OJ No. L175, 5.7.85, p.40) on the assessment of the effects of 
certain public and private projects on the environment.




July 1997


1997 No. 1871 (S.137)


The Town and Country Planning (General 
Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 1997


This Order amends the Town and Country 
Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. 
It is concerned with the further implementation in Scotland of 
Directive 85/337/EEC (OJ No L175, 5.7.85, p.40) on the assessment 
of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.




September 1997


1997 No. 2157 (S. 150)


The Building (Scotland) Amendment 
Regulations 1997-amendments to Parts D and E of the Technical 
Standards for compliance with the Building Standards (Scotland) 
Regulations 1990


These Regulations make further amendments 
to the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (the "1990 
Regulations") and the Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 
1981. The amendments take account of the evolution of building 
practices in the areas of fire prevention and building ventilation, 
and give effect to some provisions of Directive 93/76/EEC (to 
limit carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy efficiency).




September 1997


1997 No. 2157 (S. 150)


The Building (Scotland) Amendment 
Regulations 1997- amendments to Part J of the Technical Standards 
for compliance with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 
1990


As above and dealing with conservation 
of fuel and power.




September
1997


1997 No. 2157 (S. 150)


The Building (Scotland) Amendment 
Regulations 1997- amendments to Part K of the Technical Standards 
for compliance with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 
1990


As above and dealing with ventilation 
of buildings.




December
1997


1997 No. 3061 (S.195)


Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) 
(Scotland) Order 1997


This Order replaces, with certain 
amendments, the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) 
Order 1989 as amended by the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) 
(Scotland) Amendment Order 1993. The 1989 Order is revoked. This 
Order specifies classes of use of buildings or other land for 
the purposes of section 26(2)(f) of the Town and Country Planning 
(Scotland) Act 1997. 




December
1997


1997 No. 3060 (S. 194)


Town and Country Planning (General 
Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Order 1997


This Order amends the Town and Country 
Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992. 
It adds a provision to the permitted development right for a change 
of use from sale or display of motor vehicles to a shop (Class 
10(c) of Part 3 of Schedule 1), restricting its application to 
buildings whose floor space does not exceed 235 square metres 
(article 3(c)). It extends the category of sewerage works covered 
by the permitted development rights in Class 43A of Part 13 of 
Schedule 1 (article 8). It also makes various minor consequential 
changes necessary to take account of the Town and Country Planning 
(Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997. 




January
1998


1998 No. 250
(S. 59)


The Surface Waters (Dangerous Substances) 
(Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1998


These regulations prescribe a system 
for classifying the quality of inland waters, coastal waters and 
relevant territorial waters with a view to reducing the pollution 
of those waters by the dangerous substances listed in the Schedules 
to the Regulations. Those substances are substances within List 
II of Council Directive 76/464/EEC (deals with pollution caused 
by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment), 
The Regulations are made in order to establish water quality objectives 
for those substances for the purposes of Article 7 of the Directive.




March
1998


1998 No. 687 (S.34)


Scheme for Construction Contracts 
(Scotland) Regulations 1998


The Housing Grants, Construction 
& Regeneration Act 1996 makes provision in relation to construction 
contracts. Section 114 empowers the Lord Advocate to make the 
Scheme for Construction Contracts (as regards Scotland). Where 
a construction contract does not comply with the requirements 
of sections 108 to 111 (adjudication of disputes and payment provisions), 
and section 113 (prohibition of conditional payment provisions), 
the relevant provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts 
have effect. The scheme, which is contained in the Schedule to 
these Regulations, is in two parts. Part I provides for the selection 
and appointment of an adjudicator, gives powers to the adjudicator 
to gather and consider information, and makes provisions in respect 
of his decisions. Part II makes provision with respect to payments 
under a construction contract where either the contract fails 
to make provision or the parties fail to agree:
(a) the method for calculating the 
amount of any instalment, stage or periodic payment;
(b) the due date and the final date 
for payments to be made; and
(c) the prescribed period within 
which a notice of intention to withhold payment must be given.




May
1998


1998 No. 1344 (S.68)


Surface Waters (Dangerous Substances) 
(Classification) (Scotland) (No2) Regulations 1998


These Regulations prescribe a system 
for classifying the quality of inland waters, coastal waters and 
relevant territorial waters with a view to reducing the pollution 
of those waters by the dangerous substances listed in the Schedules 
to the Regulations (regulations 2 and 3 and Schedules 1 and 2). 
Those substances are substances within List II of Council Directive 
76/464/EEC (which deals with pollution caused by certain dangerous 
substances discharged into the aquatic environment), and the Regulations 
are made in order to establish water quality objectives for those 
substances for the purposes of Article 7 of the Directive (pollution 
reduction programmes).




June
1998


1998 No. 1572 (S.81)


The Mines (Notification of Abandonment) 
(Scotland) Regulations 1998


Section 30Z(1) of the Control of 
Pollution Act 1974 requires a mine operator to give notice of 
abandonment of a mine or part of a mine to the Scottish Environment 
Protection Agency at least six months before any proposed abandonment 
in Scotland. Section 30Z(4) and (5) contains special provisions 
about the notice which must be given where the mine is abandoned 
in an emergency or where the operator is the Accountant in Bankruptcy 
or the official receiver.




October
1998


1998 No 2533 (S.125)


The Trade Effluent (Registers) (Scotland) 
Regulations 1998


These Regulations, which extend to 
Scotland only, prescribe the particulars to be entered in the 
registers to be maintained by water and sewerage authorities in 
terms of section 37A of the Sewerage (Scotland) Act 1968. 




November
1998


1998 No. 2913 (S.170)


The Town and Country Planning (Minerals) 
(Scotland) Regulations 1998


These Regulations modify certain 
provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 
as they apply to development consisting of the winning and working 
of minerals or involving the depositing of mineral waste.
The Regulations replace the Town 
and Country Planning (Minerals) (Scotland) Regulations 1971 as 
amended by the Town and Country Planning (Minerals) (Scotland) 
Regulations 1982, which are revoked.




November
1998


1998 No. 1914(S. 170)


The Town and Country Planning (Compensation 
for Restrictions on Mineral Working and Mineral Waste Depositing) 
(Scotland) Regulations 1998;


These Regulations revoke and replace, 
with amendment, the Town and Country Planning (Compensation for 
Restrictions on Mineral Working) (Scotland) Regulations 1987.




November
1998


1998 No. 2927 (S. 171)


The Action Programme for Nitrate 
Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 1998.


The Regulations establish an action 
programme for the nitrate vulnerable zone designated in Scotland 
by the Protection of Water Against Agricultural Nitrate Pollution 
(Scotland) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 1996/1564) & implement, 
as regards Scotland, the requirement in Article 5 of Council Directive 
91/676/EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution 
caused by nitrates from agricultural sources.

Environment

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of (a) greenfield and (b) brownfield land have been owned by each local authority in each of the past four years.

Sarah Boyack: Information is not held centrally on greenfield land. The table below gives the amount of local authority owned vacant and derelict land in each local authority area. Information is not yet available for 1999.

  Local Authority Owned Vacant and Derelict Land1,2,3 by Local Authority Area (in hectares), 1996, 1997 and 1998

  





1996


1997


1998




Aberdeen City


28


25


254




Aberdeenshire


21


21


14




Angus


34


32


31




Argyll & Bute


9


8


8




Clackmannanshire


6


6


7




Dumfries and Galloway


185


20


19




Dundee City


147


1476


151




East Ayrshire


325


325


29




East Dunbartonshire


23


23


22




East Lothian


37


32


30




East Renfrewshire


11


12


12




Edinburgh, City of


42


45


46




Eilean Siar


5


1


1




Falkirk


124


115


84




Fife


100


98


91




Glasgow City


714


731


711




Highland


1567


1567


1567




Inverclyde


21


17


21




Midlothian


958


64


60




Moray


18


186


186




North Ayrshire


29


41


38




North Lanarkshire


249


215


171




Orkney Islands


8


5


6




Perth and Kinross


3


3


15




Renfrewshire


32


28


32




Scottish Borders


13


18


18




Shetland


0


0


0




South Ayrshire


29


32


33




South Lanarkshire


151


140


139




Stirling


105


1056


101




West Dunbartonshire


48


54


50




West Lothian


1195


1195


1195




Scotland


2,427


2,364


2,260




  Notes:

  1. Figures may not sum due to rounding errors.

  2. Sites covering less than 0.1 ha are excluded.

  3. The Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey includes only that vacant land which is either located within an urban settlement (with a population of 2,000 or more) or which is located within 1km of such settlements, which would commonly be considered as having the characteristics of urban vacant land.

  4. Data are for 1997.

  5. Data are for 1995.

  6. Data are for 1996.

  7. Data are for 1993.

  8. Data are for 1994.

Environment

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8951 by Sarah Boyack on 18 August 2000, whether it will undertake an exercise to provide a quantitative estimate of the monetary environmental costs resulting from quarries located in Galloway and Upper Nithsdale.

Sarah Boyack: UK research on The Environmental Costs and Benefits of the Supply of Aggregates was published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions in July 1999. This surveyed a number of quarries, including two in Scotland, to derive a monetary value that the public placed on the impact of quarrying. There are no plans to undertake further research.

Environment

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to encourage the use of deposits on food and drink containers in order to prevent litter.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive would be supportive of any initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of litter and waste, particularly those sponsored by the industries which use packaging themselves.

Flood Prevention

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is held centrally regarding expenditure by local authorities to promote flood alleviation schemes within the context of the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961.

Sarah Boyack: None.

Flood Prevention

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many flood alleviation schemes are currently awaiting approval, broken down by local authority and indicating the level of capital expenditure required within each local authority’s capital programme.

Sarah Boyack: Presently, there are two flood prevention schemes submitted by local authorities being considered for confirmation by Scottish Ministers. One is from Perth and Kinross Council estimated to cost £190,000, and the other from Renfrewshire Council estimated to cost £693,000.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the funding of the IT requirements to enable community pharmacists to receive electronically transferred prescriptions and what conclusions were reached as a result of any such consideration.

Susan Deacon: The investment required in IT in community pharmacies is a key aspect of the Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions Project, which is currently underway. A first wave site will shortly be identified in which the project will be trialled. The results will be a key element in the completion of the full business case, which will recommend the best option for national rollout.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the funding of the IT requirements to enable community pharmacists to access the Scottish Health Service Net and what conclusions were reached as a result of any such consideration.

Susan Deacon: The connection of community pharmacists to NHSnet is a key aspect of the Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions (ETP) project, which is currently underway. A first wave site will shortly be identified in which the project will be trialled. The connection of community pharmacists in the area to NHS Net will be the first stage in implementing ETP. The results of the trial will be a key element in the completion of the full business case, which will recommend the best option for national rollout.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended length of time is that it should take for a Fatal Accident Inquiry to be completed from the time of the decision to hold one.

Neil Davidson: There is no recommended time for the completion of a Fatal Accident Inquiry once a decision has been taken to hold one. The hearing, once commenced, can vary in length according to a number of different factors including the amount of evidence led, the availability of witnesses and legal representatives and the availability of court time.

Ministerial Correspondence

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister will reply to my letter of March 2000 regarding comments made in the Parliament on 2 March 2000.

Donald Dewar: I have replied today.

NHS Pay

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the salaries, salary scales, and salaries and benefits packages combined for: (a) human resource directors; (b) medical directors; (c) directors of nursing services; (d) finance directors, and (e) chief executives and their equivalents for each of the acute hospital and primary care Trusts in Scotland in (i) 1996-97; (ii) 1997-98, and (iii) 1998-99.

Susan Deacon: Detailed information on the salaries and salary and benefits packages combined for individual human resource directors, medical directors, directors of nursing services, finance directors and chief executives or their equivalents in acute or primary care NHS Trusts in the NHSiS is not held centrally. The remuneration of the chief executive and the highest paid director in a trust is published in individual Trust annual reports for the year concerned.

  The staff mentioned were for the years requested generally paid on general and senior managers terms and conditions, although medical directors may retain their consultant salary and additional payments, such as distinction awards and discretionary points. The pay ranges applicable to general and senior managers for the years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 is set out in the tables. The Trust managers’ posts subject to the 1999 Trust reconfiguration have been thoroughly job evaluated and are now subject to scrutiny through the Central Evaluation Committee. The Health Act which came into force on 1 October 1999 contains a clause which enables Ministers to direct Trusts. The new arrangements for Executive Pay announced on 2 May 2000 in MEL (2000) 25 brought these staff under ministerial direction from 1 April 2000.

  Pay Ranges from 1 September 1996

  


Grade


Job Units


Pay Ranges







Min.


Max.


Threshold


Max.




0


269


313


13,518


17,890




1


314


370


14,964


19,806




2


371


438


16,944


22,426




3


439


518


19,353


25,615




4


519


613


22,138


29,301




5


614


734


26,006


34,422




6


735


879


29,920


39,601




7


880


1,055


35,677


47,220




8


1,056


1,260


42,154


55,794




9


1,261


1,507


47,851


63,332




10


1,508


1,800


54,240


71,788




11


1,801


2,140


60,855


80,544




12


2,141


2,550


70,955


93,913




  Pay Ranges from 1 September 1997

  


Grade


Job Units


Pay Ranges



 

Min.


Max.


Threshold


Max.




0


269


313


13,518


18,069




1


314


370


14,964


20,004




2


371


438


16,944


22,650




3


439


518


19,353


25,871




4


519


613


22,138


29,594




5


614


734


26,006


34,766




6


735


879


29,920


39,997




7


880


1,055


35,677


47,692




8


1,056


1,260


42,154


56,352




9


1,261


1,507


47,851


63,965




10


1,508


1,800


54,240


72,506




11


1,801


2,140


60,855


81,349




12


2,141


2,550


70,955


94,852




  Pay Ranges from 1 September 1998

  


Grade


Job Units


Pay Ranges



 

Min.


Max.


Threshold


Max.




0


269


313


14,018


18,738




1


314


370


15,518


20,744




2


371


438


17,571


23,488




3


439


518


20,069


26,828




4


519


613


22,957


30,689




5


614


734


26,968


36,052




6


735


879


31,027


41,477




7


880


1,055


36,997


49,457




8


1,056


1,260


43,714


58,437




9


1,261


1,507


49,621


66,332




10


1,508


1,800


56,247


75,189




11


1,801


2,140


63,107


84,359




12


2,141


2,550


73,580


98,362




  Note: NHSiS employers were advised in July 1996 not to appointment to Grade 0 to 3 posts as it was considered it was inappropriate to classify them as senior manager posts.

Rural Affairs

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to assisting riparian landowners and farmers in the replacement of obsolete and broken field drains.

Ross Finnie: Capital grants for land drainage projects have been phased out over the years. Restoration of capital grants for this purpose was not regarded as a priority in the responses to extensive consultations by the Executive in respect of the implementation of the EU Rural Development Regulation in Scotland. Consequently, we have no plans to provide assistance.

Scottish Executive Staff

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants are employed by each department of the Scottish Executive.

Mr Jack McConnell: The full-time equivalent of permanent staff employed in the main departments between 1 June 1997 in the Scottish Office and 1 February 2000 in the Scottish Executive are set out in the attached table.

  In the past three years, the definition of the core Scottish Executive (Scottish Office) has changed with movements of responsibilities into and out of the Office/Executive. The figures shown below have been backdated as far as possible for comparison purposes. Therefore, the Scottish Courts Administration and Parole Board staff (135 staff at February 2000) have been included within the core Office/Executive throughout the period, although the actual transfer of staff took place in July 1999.

  

 

1/4/97


1/6/97


1/4/98


1/4/99


1/2/2000




Scottish Office/Executive


3,611.2


3,556.5


3,570.3


3,677.6


3,926.0




Crown Office


1,104.0


1,072.7


1,112.0


1,084.0


1,089.7




Scottish Courts Service


816.0


819.4


828.0


833.0


854.4




Scottish Prison Service


4,510.0


4,359.7


4,723.0


4,824.0


4,824.0




Agencies



















Fisheries Research Services


205.9


227.9


227.0


256.5


257.9




Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency


254.0


257.0


255.6


274.9


274.5




Scottish Agricultural Science Agency


123.0


122.7


121.0


114.3


127.4




Scottish Public Pensions Agency


153.1


151.1


143.5


139.5


152.6




Historic Scotland


587.0


603.4


626.8


622.3


630.8




Student Awards Agency for Scotland


120.3


124.2


125.8


126.8


122.8




Others (inc. Associated Depts.)



















National Archives of Scotland


119.1


120.2


112.9


114.2


119.2




General Register Office


206.8


205.8


202.4


214.4


235.4




Registers of Scotland


1,063.0


1,044.7


1045.0


1,057.0


1,268.8




  76 staff have transferred to the Scotland Office since its formation.

  It should be noted that although a number of staff from other public sector organisations are on loan/secondment to the Executive, they remain employees of the parent organisation.

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any grants relating to railway services available specifically for the provision of services for disabled persons at railway stations; who the grants have been made to; what effect would the granting of an exemption from or a delay in the required date for implementation of the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 have on the payment of any such grants, and whether it has any information on any such exemptions or delays and, if so, whether it will identify the organisation concerned.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive has not made grants available for this purpose; however, the Executive has made a number of additional capital allocations to transport authorities through its Public Transport Fund, aimed at projects which incorporate improved access to rail services for disabled people. Powers concerning the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are reserved to the Westminster Parliament.

Water Supply

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to ban the use of lead solder on all domestic plumbing services.

Sarah Boyack: The use of lead solder for domestic water supply systems is already illegal. The Scottish Executive is exploring the options for banning lead solder in other domestic plumbing services such as central heating systems.

Water Supply

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have arisen from contractors using lead solder on plumbing supplying drinking water.

Sarah Boyack: No prosecutions have arisen from contractors using lead solder on domestic water supply systems.

Water Supply

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes built since lead solder was banned from use on plumbing supplying drinking water have since been found to have excessive levels of lead in drinking water due to the use of lead solder.

Sarah Boyack: Data showing the number of homes with excessive lead levels in their drinking water, that were built since lead solder was banned from use on domestic plumbing systems in 1987, is not available. To try and establish the scale of the problem, the Scottish Executive has instructed the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental (SCIEH) to carry out a national survey of new properties. The results from the SCIEH study are expected later this year.

Water Supply

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the legislation concerning contractors who contravene existing laws on the use of lead solder on plumbing supplying drinking water.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is exploring the options for tightening up the legislation concerned with the illegal use of lead solder on domestic water supply systems. The Executive is currently awaiting the results of a study into the extent of the problem.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) received from The Scottish Office information as to whether, at the outset of the Holyrood Project, (a) a committee of appropriate personnel was established to assess the project requirements and prepare a basic specification, (b) associated technical personnel were on hand to give advice to this committee and make any necessary assessment, (c) any assessment of the original building project was required and made and (d) any overall specification was produced incorporating all operational requirements so that a proper budget could be estimated, and whether the SPCB received information as to how the original estimated budget of £40 million was arrived at.

Sir David Steel: I understand that, following the selection of the Holyrood site on 9 January 1998, the new Parliament building project was administered by the Holyrood Project Team (HPT) within The Scottish Office. The HPT appointed a suitably qualified Project Manager, (who was initially appointed as a Project Adviser), who produced a Building User Brief, seeking advice from appropriate Scottish Office Departments and from the Consultative Steering Group as required. The SPCB acquired legal responsibility for the project on 1 June 1999 and received regular briefing from the HPT and the Design Team on a wide range of issues, including budgets. The composition of the original budget estimates is a matter which was investigated by the Auditor General for Scotland in preparing his recent report into the Management of the Holyrood Project.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what fees the Holyrood project design team estimate would be charged on a traditional single stage lump sum procured building project worth £108 million and what the estimated comparable fees are for the Holyrood project under the procurement system being used.

Sir David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that there is no basis on which such a speculative exercise to estimate costs could be carried out. The overall figure for fees will be contained within the total project budget of £195 million, as approved by Parliament on 5th April 2000.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer who the Holyrood project’s cost consultants are and what work they have done to date.

Sir David Steel: As members will have read in numerous previous publications, the cost consultants for the Holyrood Project are Davis Langdon & Everest (DLE), one of the largest quantity surveyor practices in the world. Since their appointment in April 1998 DLE have undertaken the standard range of professional cost consultancy duties required in connection with the Holyrood Project.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether letting the first eleven works packages of the Holyrood building project has provided the project’s cost consultants with sufficient evidence to assess the reliability of their projections and whether the contracts let to date have produced savings or over-runs in expenditure and by what amounts.

Sir David Steel: I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that the collective value of the eleven works packages let to date is in line with the total of the individual expenditure projections. The details of the individual tender values are commercially confidential.

  Construction management is a dynamic procurement method under which projections are routinely re-assessed in the light of experience. With advice from the construction manager and cost consultants, the Holyrood Progress Group will continue to monitor the value of packages let against the established budget.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether savings have been identified on the projected costs of the Parliament’s existing accommodation in the event that MSPs and their staff occupy the new MSP block in advance of completion of the Holyrood building project, and if so, what the estimated savings are.

Sir David Steel: The contract with the construction manager for the Parliament project does not allow for phased occupation of the Holyrood complex. The Holyrood Progress Group and the Corporate Body revisited this issue earlier in the year and concluded that it would be neither appropriate nor cost-efficient to seek to alter this arrangement.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the outcome was of the review of the basic construction costs recommended in paragraphs 6.3 and 6.8 of the Spencely Report on the Holyrood building project.

Sir David Steel: Following the debate on 5 April 2000, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body proceeded on the basis of the resolution that had been approved by Parliament, which endorsed the terms of SPCB report No 4 of 30 March 2000 and established a budget of £195 million. I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that, as the tendering process continues, the Design Team is carrying out an ongoing review of opportunities to identify any potential for savings.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the terms of agreement between the various members of the Holyrood design team and the client and between the construction manager and the client have been re-considered in terms of paragraph 6.9 of the Spencely Report and what the financial impact of any such re-consideration has been.

Sir David Steel: I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that the Design Team and Construction Manager’s contracts have been revised in line with the increase in construction costs of the Holyrood building to £108 million agreed by Parliament on 5 April 2000. The individual fee amounts are percentage based and increase proportionately in relation to the construction cost. The overall cost of fees is contained within the project budget of £195 million.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what progress has been made in improving communications and management in terms of paragraphs 9.3 and 9.4 of the Spencely Report on the Holyrood building project.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has established the Holyrood Progress Group (HPG) in accordance with the resolution passed by Parliament on 5 April 2000. In addition, the responsibilities of the previous Project Sponsor have been split between the recently appointed Project Director and a Financial Controller, and a new post of secretary to the HPG has been established. Both of these initiatives have been commended by the Auditor General for Scotland in his recent report into the management of the Holyrood Project.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to the answers to questions S1W-233 and S1W-5937 by the Presiding Officer on 8 July 1999 and 5 April 2000 respectively, whether individual works packages are each allocated a budget to cover all costs associated with the package, or whether contingency allowances are not allocated to individual works packages and, if there has been a change in procedures, when and why the change took place.

Sir David Steel: I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that individual works packages each have a budget allocation to cover all identified costs. The contingency is contained within a global sum from which amounts can be drawn down in the event of unforeseen eventualities, with the approval of the Holyrood Progress Group. No change of procedure has been involved.

Scottish Parliament Pension Schemes

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the gross annual impact of the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds on the Scottish Parliament was in 1999-2000 and will be in 2000-01.

Sir David Steel: There are two main Parliamentary Pension Schemes and they are affected differently by the abolition of advance corporation tax credit for pension funds.

  The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made arrangements to allow the staff of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to be members of the Principle Civil Service Pension Scheme. This is a notional pension scheme and is not affected by the abolition of advance corporation tax credits.

  The Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme was established to make pension provision for Members of the Scottish Parliament. This scheme is affected by the abolition of advance corporation tax credits, and the effect is estimated to be an overall reduction of 0.1% of the total value of the fund. The fund was valued at £1.4 million at 31 March 2000. No forecast of the value of the fund at 31 March 2001 is available.